Former Vegas Officer Reflects on Shooting

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- It's hard to put yourself into the shoes of those directly affected by the shooting. It's even difficult to imagine being a police officer on the front lines responding to the gunfire.

For one Rochester police officer, news of the massacre brought him back to a decade ago when he was working the streets of Las Vegas.

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"Many calls in Mandalay Bay and that immediate area and I can picture it very clearly,” said former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Wade Blazejak.

Officer Blazejak worked for three years in Las Vegas. He is currently an officer for the Rochester Police Department.

"I was woken up by family at home around 4 in the morning and at that point the death toll was only in the 20's still and I started reaching out to former co-workers and friends and determined that some of my friends were called into work and had to leave their families behind,” said Officer Blazejak.

ABC 6 News Anchor Karsen Forsman asked Blazejak about his conversations with his former co-workers and friends.

"You offer support, listen and you're available in any way you can be," Blazejak added.

Officer Blazejak said if he was still working for LVMPD he would have stepped in to help.

"Without reservation, it's a tough decision to leave your family at home. That's what we sign up for and you rely on training and experience,” he added.

Officer Blazejak has a former partner who was off duty at the concert. He said his former partner didn't think of himself, rather, let training kick in and ran back in to help the hundreds wounded.

The President has unveiled his plan to fight the opioid crisis and the plan includes the death penalty for drug traffickers. The president talked about his plan today in New Hampshire, a state hit hard by the opioid crisis.

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